Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lima and Puerto Escondido

For one person, living is cheaper in Lima: $1,012 a month against $1,151 in Puerto Escondido, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Lima
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Lima Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Escondido
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Puerto Escondido Living Index

Jump to prices

Lima

🇵🇪 Peru

$1,012

/mo nomad

Puerto Escondido

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,151

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lima and in Puerto Escondido

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lima and in Puerto Escondido actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,012 in Lima versus $1,151 in Puerto Escondido.

Lima $1,012
Puerto Escondido $1,151

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,589 in Lima versus $1,856 in Puerto Escondido.

Lima $1,589
Puerto Escondido $1,856

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,167 in Lima versus $2,561 in Puerto Escondido.

Lima $2,167
Puerto Escondido $2,561

Living in Lima costs roughly 12% less than in Puerto Escondido, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lima 25% lower, Puerto Escondido 15% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 PEN 15.10

$10.52 MX$194

-58.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.17 PEN 121

$42.96 MX$794

-18.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 PEN 23.65

$8.65 MX$160

-20.35%

Cappuccino

$3.26 PEN 11.20

$3.58 MX$66.1

-8.94%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 PEN 3.84

$1.42 MX$26.25

-21.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 PEN 2.11

$1.05 MX$19.38

-40.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 PEN 9.09

$3.04 MX$56.2

-12.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 PEN 15.15

$4.05 MX$74.9

8.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 PEN 5.61

$1.85 MX$34.14

-11.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.56 PEN 8.78

$2.84 MX$52.5

-9.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.65

$1.64 MX$30.22

-17.68%

Eggs

$2.90 PEN 9.96

$2.80 MX$51.7

3.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.85 PEN 30.38

$8.20 MX$152

7.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.98 PEN 20.52

$10.98 MX$203

-45.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.78 PEN 33.59

$11.54 MX$213

-15.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 PEN 7.02

$2.68 MX$49.45

-23.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.06 PEN 3.66

$1.59 MX$29.42

-33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.35 PEN 4.64

$1.86 MX$34.42

-27.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 PEN 5.15

$1.73 MX$32.01

-13.29%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 PEN 3.03

$1.59 MX$29.46

-44.65%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 PEN 3.15

$2.02 MX$37.35

-54.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 PEN 3.07

$1.48 MX$27.28

-39.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 PEN 3.10

$1.14 MX$21.15

-21.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.90 PEN 20.27

$4.48 MX$82.7

31.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.52 PEN 29.26

$10.36 MX$191

-17.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 PEN 6.45

$2.46 MX$45.43

-23.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 PEN 11.05

$3.09 MX$57.1

4.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 PEN 2.33

$0.83 MX$15.35

-18.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.86 PEN 92.2

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.81 PEN 13.09

$2.80 MX$51.7

36.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 PEN 6.93

$1.78 MX$32.92

13.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.11 PEN 24.41

$9.89 MX$183

-28.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$1.36 MX$25.14

26.47%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$22.3K PEN 76.6K

$18.7K MX$344.9K

19.53%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.5K PEN 87.6K

$25.2K MX$465.2K

1.31%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$73.1 PEN 251

$64.7 MX$1,196

12.94%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$16.35 PEN 56.2

$22.92 MX$424

-28.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.47 PEN 94.3

$36.45 MX$674

-24.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.90 PEN 110

$27.77 MX$513

14.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.41 PEN 66.7

$19.89 MX$368

-2.41%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 PEN 24.23

$4.56 MX$84.2

54.61%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$182 PEN 627

$220 MX$4,069

-17.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K PEN 44.8K

$4,364 MX$80.6K

198.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.8 PEN 185

$49.88 MX$922

7.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.32 PEN 118

$42.79 MX$791

-19.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.8 PEN 284

$91.6 MX$1,693

-9.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 PEN 269

$84.0 MX$1,553

-6.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$721 PEN 2,476

$601 MX$11.1K

20.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$343 PEN 1,179

$382 MX$7,061

-10.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 PEN 4,186

$960 MX$17.7K

27.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$651 PEN 2,235

$778 MX$14.4K

-16.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,414 PEN 8,292

$2,036 MX$37.6K

18.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,357 PEN 4,660

$1,289 MX$23.8K

5.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 PEN 2,226

$327 MX$6,035

98.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.94

11.3

-20.88%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Lima: October 11, 2026

Last update for Puerto Escondido: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Lima

$343 33.9%

Puerto Escondido

$382 33.2% 11.3% $39

Groceries & Markets

Lima

$226 22.3%

Puerto Escondido

$285 24.8% 26.3% $59

Eating Out

Lima

$124 12.3%

Puerto Escondido

$186 16.2% 50.2% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lima

$117 11.6%

Puerto Escondido

$124 10.8% 6.1% $7.2

Clothing & Footwear

Lima

$112 11.1%

Puerto Escondido

$121 10.5% 7.7% $8.6

Sport & Entertainment

Lima

$46 4.6%

Puerto Escondido

$37 3.2% 19.8% $9.1

Getting Around

Lima

$43 4.3%

Puerto Escondido

$15 * 1.3% 65.4% $28

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $721 in Lima and $601 in Puerto Escondido. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lima pays 98% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Lima vs $43.00 in Puerto Escondido for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $285 per month, with Lima cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Lima

🇲🇽 Puerto Escondido

🕒 Local time

14:30 2:30 PM

13:30 1:30 PM

1 h behind Lima

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,989,369 Capital

25,902

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.43 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Lima Puerto Escondido 3,810 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lima
Puerto Escondido

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lima vs Puerto Escondido: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lima and Puerto Escondido differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,012 vs $1,151 including rent). Lima is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 98% higher in Lima, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $721 in Lima versus $601 in Puerto Escondido. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Puerto Escondido. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,012 per month in Lima versus $1,151 in Puerto Escondido – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,012 in Lima versus $1,151 in Puerto Escondido, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lima but tight or insufficient in Puerto Escondido. The gap between the two cities makes Lima the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Lima and Puerto Escondido are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lima gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Puerto Escondido. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.